Coast to Kosci

Event Overview

Course & Terrain

Point-to-point road and mountain route from Twofold Bay near Eden to Charlotte Pass via the summit of Mount Kosciuszko.

Key course features to know before comparing this race:

• Pre-dawn start on Boydtown Beach at Twofold Bay, with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony led by Yuin Elder Uncle BJ Cruse
• The climb of Big Jack Mountain out of the Towamba valley (57–64 km)
• A night crossing of the Monaro to Dalgety and the Snowy River (148 km)
• Beloka Hill and the Lake Jindabyne foreshore
• The Summit Walk via Rawson Pass to Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) and back to Charlotte Pass

Almost all of the route is on public roads that stay open to traffic, a mix of sealed and gravel surfaces, with a short firetrail and the Brandy Creek Trail in the first 4 km. Big Jack Mountain Road climbs from the Towamba River crossing at about 57 km to 64 km, and after the Monaro Highway crossing at 81 km runners negotiate numerous cattle grids over the next 20 km. The Snowy River Way leads to Dalgety (148 km), Beloka Hill rises from about 162 km, and a lakeside path passes through Jindabyne before Kosciuszko Road climbs past Perisher (213 km) to Charlotte Pass (222 km). The last 18 km is the Summit Walk via Rawson Pass to the 2,228 m summit and back. Runners keep to the far right facing traffic except on the Big Jack and Beloka climbs, where they keep left, and some causeways are subject to flooding: in 2021 runners were ferried across one swollen creek.

The runners guide calls the weather unpredictable, and race directors’ reports bear that out. In 2020 a hot, windy first day with little shade gave way to 80 km/h gusts and sideways rain, and an inclement-weather finish was called at Charlotte Pass for runners not already on the summit path. In 2021 rain fell for most of the race and Charlotte Pass was cold and icy with very low visibility, so the finish moved there. The 2022 race was very warm by day yet still finished over snow traverses near the summit, and in 2023 the start was rerouted around flooded rivers and creeks. The race now runs in November; the 2020 and 2022 editions were held in early December. Seamans Hut and Rawson Pass are the emergency shelters on the summit path.

Entry & Logistics

Why This Race Matters

Paul Every floated the idea at Sydney’s Orient Hotel in the winter of 2004, scouted the route with Diane Weaver and Sean Greenhill, and on December 10, 2004, four runners started an unofficial, FatAss-style first run; three finished. After unofficial editions in 2005 and 2006, Coast to Kosci became an official race in 2007 with support from Disability Services Australia and AUTRA’s then-president, the late Ian Cornelius. It was not held in 2018 or 2019 and returned in 2020 under race directors Greg Wallace and Mickey Campbell. The organizer counts 18 races, 399 individual finishers and 670 finishes, an 83% finish rate. Andrew Tuckey’s 24:33:14 from 2014 is still the race record, and every first-time finisher receives an Akubra hat.

Historical benchmark notes in the directory record (verify current records with the linked official sources):

• Men: Andrew Tuckey, 24:33:14, 2014
• Women: Allie Corripio, 27:44, 2024 (second overall, less than two minutes behind winner Benn Coubrough)
• 2025 winners: Ben Wilson, 26:25:02, and Liv Compton, 28:28:28

Preparing for a Race Like Coast to Kosci

The fixed-distance race guide covers the format as a whole. These guides go deeper:

• Walking strategy for ultramarathons: When and how to walk by terrain, effort and cutoffs.
• Crew and aid-station strategy: Crew tables, aid stops, drop bags and runner preferences.
• Hydration and sodium for ultramarathons: Fluid, sodium, thirst, sweat rate and hyponatremia risk.
• Tapering for ultramarathons: Plan the taper and race week around your own recovery.

Best Fit

• Experienced 100-mile, 24-hour and backyard runners who meet the invitational criteria
• Runners who want a crewed point-to-point road ultra with a mountain finish
• Runners who value a small, community-first event of about 60 starters

Planning Notes

• Prepare for sleep decisions, weather swings, and aid-station discipline. The distance is only one part of a multi-day fixed-distance race.
• The directory does not mark this as having simpler logistics. Confirm qualification, terrain, support, registration, medical, and withdrawal requirements before planning around it.
• No crew for the first 24 km: carry what you need to Towamba, with only a minimal aid table at 3.7 km
• Early cutoffs: 12 hours to Cathcart (70 km) and 25 hours to Dalgety Bridge (148 km)
• The summit is weather-dependent: runners need the mandatory summit gear and officials’ clearance at Charlotte Pass, and inclement-weather finishes there cut out the summit in 2008 and 2021 and for part of the field in 2020, 2023 and 2025
• Mobile coverage is patchy across 240 km; the organizer recommends Telstra and a crew driver fit to drive back to Jindabyne

Event FAQs

Related Preparation

• Compare this race in the full 2026 calendar
• Open the Fixed-Distance format guide
• Compare all race formats
• Use the timed-race pace calculator
• Plan checkpoint arrivals and cutoff buffers
• Print a pace band for your goal time
• Estimate race calories and plan fueling
• Build a crew and drop-bag plan
• Build a race-specific gear checklist